Finn
Watching Sully and Lea examine Koba like a science experiment, I of course decided this was something I had to record as a family bonding moment. In a way, he and I are demon family in a sense. He has passed the Faeroth Household test, so we are of the same household. Once the elders arrive, he will be formally inducted into the household, which is also known as the Twilight Coven. Our household are the masters of all witch elemental expressions and arcane methods.
I heard the Vice-Magister herself would be coming to meet him. Which is an honor in itself, but if my brother's information is correct, she is coming for another reason as well.
Koba is possibly her baby brother. We all thought he had died with their parents twenty-four years ago. He hadn't even been born yet. So he had to have been stolen out of his mother's womb.
If the tests hadn't shown he was blood-related to the rest of his family, we would never have suspected he could be their unborn child. Now that I see him in his true form, he was almost the exact image of his deceased mother. The evidence keeps piling up that whatever Maeve and Xerxes are involved in is worse than we imagined.
"So now that your transition is complete, what do you plan to do now? You look completely different, so you could just disappear and we fake a death accident for Koba Dillard. You could return to your true home away from this filthy place." Lea spoke up, getting us back on track now that she and Sully had finished fully taking in the change. She sat down on the bed next to Nox, finally giving our son the attention he wanted. You would think he hadn't seen her in years the way he snuggled into her embrace, making her giggle.
Koba leaned against the window, looking out at the sunset. "I will not abandon the mission because of personal matters. I do intend to eventually leave the Dillard Enclave, but before I do, I want to help dismantle it and free you two from your bonds. Me leaving right now would cause more problems and make them restrict your movements more than they already do."
I gave a nod in agreement at his logical assessment. Lea and Sully relaxed some, knowing he wouldn't be trying to immediately leave. They feel guilty for not acting on their suspicions, so of course, they are happy to have more time to make it up to him. He, Nox, and I had already discussed his role in our operations, so now we just have to bring these two up to speed.
"Good. With his access as Scion, he has access to information we would have to gather over a long period of time. The day of the Matriarch and Second Crown Consort's return is fast approaching, so we will gather key information that we can work from to build our case before the Grand Sentinel." Noxton stood up to pace the room as he spoke.
""We cannot trust the Harmonium Council to try our case. The Judicar of Accord especially can't be trusted. He is a dirty vampire that enjoys doing good so no one will see or believe his dark deeds. We will have to submit our case to the Grand Sentinel herself and request a trial by the Grand Sentinel Council if we wish to accomplish our ultimate goal of wiping out not just this Kin-Branch of the Dillard Enclave but all its branches both here and on the other continent."
Koba was staring slack-jawed while we just nodded our agreement. "Wait, wait, wait. So we aren't only dismantling the Dillard Enclave of the Solhara region but the entire Dillard Enclave Dynasty?!" He was yelling now. Noxton didn't seem surprised by this reaction while Lea, Sully, and I were a bit taken aback. Koba is usually cool, calm, and collected. Whenever he has been emotional before, there has always been a core of calm to him. Yet now it appears this was a breaking-point moment, one we hadn't considered. Oops.
"They have been an established Enclave Dynasty since the 3rd Era. Not once have they failed to maintain their established status. Across all five branches for over two centuries, they have always met the maintenance requirements and are considered model Enclaves. We are attempting to wipe out that Enclave Dynasty? Did I hear that right?" Koba's emotions were causing his essence to go out of control.
Fire, air, water, and earth were appearing and disappearing around him. It was the scales flickering in and out of existence that made my eyebrow raise. Oh, ho. The little demon has a strong Savran affinity. The scales don't give me enough context to guess what beast he resonates with, but I'm sure another experi…I mean test will give us an answer
.
Nox had approached Koba confidently, even with him showing obvious signs of breaking down. With hands on Koba's shoulders, Nox talked him down from the full breakdown Koba had been about to have. "Yes, the dynasty is the overall goal. We begin with this Kin-branch, then we dismantle every other branch until their legacy is only in history books."
Nox's serious anger reached Koba in that moment. I watched him process as he always did when he was trying to solve a problem. He looked at each of us in turn. "This isn't just about them getting in the way of your families' happiness. It's not just about everything they have done to me. What else have they done? What more have they done that you believe the Dillard Enclave dynasty should be wiped out?"
Nox opened his mouth but closed it when I coughed. He stepped back as I stepped forward. With my arms behind my back, I met his gold stare head-on. My emerald gaze swept over him, and I knew this would be a pivotal moment. I held out my hand to him. My hand began to glow faintly as I spoke.
"Do you swear upon your cores that what we share with you now you will not speak of to another in any form without permission? Will you take this binding oath?" Koba's arms crossed as he looked at us each in turn before his gaze landed back on me. He took my hand. He is now bound to my mission like my family. I just pray he doesn't regret it.
"Yes. The Dillard Enclave Dynasty needs to be wiped out. They have been assisting a shadow organization and committing horrible deeds since the main enclave rose to power. Your kidnapping and subsequent enslavement is only one of a thousand horrendous actions they have done all in the name of creating a better world." I had to keep myself focused on helping him understand the scope of our fight. Otherwise, I would lose myself to rage. I clenched my fists so hard, I felt blood pooling in my palm.
"You are not the first but you were the last child to be stolen from us. We believe you were the youngest because no other unborn children have been recorded missing. It's because of your family's incident that pregnant demons are now required to have guards with them when they leave their home."
"Our population has always been smaller compared to the other races. Without omega demons, conceiving has become twice as difficult for us, so our young are greatly treasured. The theft of our offspring is an offense so grave complete annihilation of all involved parties is what had been deemed necessary to restore balance." I pushed up my glasses and kept my breathing even. I only vaguely noticed I smeared blood on my face and glasses.
"For the past twenty odd years, one to two adult demons have gone missing yearly. The ones that return to us are so broken in mind and spirit that we end up forced to bind them to dream sweet dreams while we work on a way to restore them or let them return to the cycle of rebirth. Most choose to dream. We suspect the Dillard Enclave Dynasty along with other influential groups have a hand in the kidnappings." I put my glasses on top of my head as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. The scent of copper and bitter essence filled my nose. I paused to take the wet washcloth, Lea held out to me.
I gave her an absent nod of thanks. "Nothing directly ties the Dillard Dynasty to the disappearances, but it's odd that they are always present in some form where a demon goes missing. So besides reuniting with my mates and accompanying our son here to Solhara, I'm on a mission to investigate the disappearances."
I refocused on the young demon before me as I say my next words. "You are an unexpected find to both me and the demon race. Especially to…your blood family who didn't even know to look for you."